African Educational Research Journal - Full Length Research Paper - Effect of teachers’ networks on teachers’ professional development and student performance in secondary schools in Tanzania

Q: What does the study investigate about teachers’ networks in Tanzania?

It assesses how teachers’ networks (PROGRAM 1) affect teachers’ professional development and student performance outcomes in secondary schools, and it gathers teachers’ views on how networks can be improved.

Q: What relationships were found among teachers’ networks, professional development, and student performance?

A significant positive relationship was found between teacher networks and teachers’ professional development (r = .36; two tailed p < .05). A positive but weak statistically significant relationship was also found between teachers’ professional development and student performance (r = .23; two tailed p < .05).

Q: What improvement suggestion did many participants propose for teacher networks?

The study reports that 44.65% of participants proposed meeting frequently as a way to improve teacher networks.

Oct 15, 2026

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The emergence of a knowledge society requires innovative teacher professional development models to improve student performance. This survey examined how teachers’ networks influence teachers’ professional development and related student performance outcomes in Tanzania secondary schools, and collected teachers’ recommendations for improving such networks. Questionnaires from 318 purposively selected science teachers were analyzed with descriptive and inferential statistics, showing significant positive associations between networks and professional development and weaker links between professional development and student performance.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages8

Reading Time20 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Statement of the problem

Purpose of the study

Objectives of the study

Research question

Conceptual framework

African Educational Research Journal Vol. 3(1), pp. 39-46, January 2015 ISSN: 2354-2160 Full Length Research Paper Effect of teachers’ networks on teachers’ professional development and student performance in secondary schools in Tanzania Saukwaeli E. Swai National Examinations Council of Tanzania (NECTA), Tanzania. Accepted 22 January, 2015 | ABSTRACT
The emergence of the knowledge society age calls for innovative forms of teachers’ professional development for improving student performance outcomes. Teachers’ networks are the innovative forms of teachers’ professional development. This survey study focused on assessing the effect of teacher networkson teachers’ professional development and student performance outcomes. In addition, the study sought to seek opinions from teachers on how teachers’ networks can be improved. Data were collected using questionnaires administered to 318 science teachers purposively selected from ordinary level secondary schools. Analysis was carried out using descriptive and inferential statistics. Findings revealed a significant positive relationship between teacher networks and teachers’ professional development (r = .36; two tailed p < .05) . Also, a positive but rather weak statistical significance relationship (r = .23; two tailed p < .05) between teachers’ professional development and student performance was found. Furthermore, 44.65% of the participants proposed meeting frequently as a way to improve teacher networks. Findings are discussed, implications drawn and recommendation made.
Keywords: Teachers’ professional development, teachers’ networks, student performance outcomes. | | --- | | E-mail: [saukwaelieliakimu@yahoo.com](saukwaelieliakimu@yahoo.com). | INTRODUCTION In the past centuries, teachers’ professional development followed a traditional form in which experts from outside the school were brought into the school to improve teaching, learning and assessment quality of teachers using a one-size-fits-all solution (Lieberman and Wood, 2005) . However, the UNESCO World Report (2005) retaliated that the emergence of the knowledge society fosters the value of exchange, the ethics of discussion and the sharing of knowledge. On the other hand, Little (2006), in her paper titled “Professional Communities and Teachers’ Professional Development” argued that the traditional form of teacher professional development is less effective in preparing teachers to improve student performance outcomes, especially in this knowledge age. Lieberman and Wood (2005) asserted that the ineffectiveness of the traditional form of teachers’professional development gave way to innovative forms of teachers’ professional development (TPD), which are effective and more suitable in preparing teachers to improve student performance outcomes. Teacher networks (TNs) between the schools (Lieberman and Wood, 2005) are the innovative forms of teachers’professional development which support teachers as agents for change in education and key players associated with the knowledge society (UNESCO World Report, 2005) . TNs carry all the attributes of quality and effective teachers’ professional development needed in this knowledge age such as opportunities of teachers to explore, create and share new knowledge in order to integrate it into their day to day teaching practice (Department of Education and Training, 2005) . Moreover, TNs are sustained over time and regard teachers as primary developers of their own profession (Lieberman and Wood, 2005) . However, research carried out in the USA by Feger and Arruda (2008) discovered that studies Afr Educ Res J 40 Figure 1. Conceptual framework. in TNs are central in developed countries like UK and the USA, but not in African countries. Statement of the problem PROGRAM 1 is a TN that was introduced in Tanzania in 2009 soon after the adoption of the Competence Based Curriculum (CBC) in 2008 as a new form of teachers’professional development. The

FAQs

What does the study investigate about teachers’ networks in Tanzania?

It assesses how teachers’ networks (PROGRAM 1) affect teachers’ professional development and student performance outcomes in secondary schools, and it gathers teachers’ views on how networks can be improved.

How were data collected and analyzed?

Data were collected using questionnaires administered to 318 purposively selected science teachers. Analysis used descriptive and inferential statistics to test relationships among the variables.

What relationships were found among teachers’ networks, professional development, and student performance?

A significant positive relationship was found between teacher networks and teachers’ professional development (r = .36; two tailed p < .05). A positive but weak statistically significant relationship was also found between teachers’ professional development and student performance (r = .23; two tailed p < .05).

What improvement suggestion did many participants propose for teacher networks?

The study reports that 44.65% of participants proposed meeting frequently as a way to improve teacher networks.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Stanford